Conservative icon Grover Norquist is in Tallahassee pitching the national “Smart on Crime” agenda, a prison reform movement that’s got the support of other “center right” politicos including Newt Gingrich and William Bennett.

Hosted by business-backed Florida TaxWatch, Norquist spoke for more than half an hour at the tony Governor’s Club to a crowd of lobbyists, criminal justice providers and policy makers.

TaxWatch is pushing the reform agenda aimed at cutting back on prison spending. The reforms include revamping mandatory minimum sentences, something House Speaker Dean Cannon said is a no-go this session.

But Norquist said elected officials don’t have to be afraid to support reforms because conservatives like Texas Gov. Rick Perry have proven the reforms work and save taxpayers money, something that could win points with tea party activists.

“They need to feel it’s potentially safe, that they won’t get hit in the back of the head with a 30-second ad saying they’re soft on crime,” Norquist said.

Whether he’s able to move the House remains unclear.

Only three lawmakers – GOP Sens. Paula Dockery of Lakeland and Thad Altman of Viera and Rep. Dennis Baxley of Ocala – attended Norquist’s speech.

House criminal justice appropriations committee chairman Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, almost made it. He was spotted smoking a cigar outside a local watering hole steps away from the venue as Norquist wrapped up.

Here’s what some legislators who’ve served in the military had to say about President Barack Obama’s firing of General Stanley McChrystal, the loose-lipped former commander of the war in Afghanistan who got the boot yesterday over his tell-all interview with The Rolling Stone.

Sen. Mike Bennett, who served four tours of duty in Vietnam in the U.S. Navy, harshly criticized Obama in part because McChrystal had such a good relationship with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and was making progress in the war although some critics question how successful the campaign has been thus far.

“I think both of them expressed very bad judgment. Two wrongs actually don’t make a right. I don’t think that telling the truth is something you should get fired over. He exercised extremely bad judgment. I think the president firing him was just as bad a judgment. He should have figured out another way to reprimand him,” Bennett, R-Bradenton said.

But Rep. Rich Glorioso, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who spent 27 years in the military, disagreed.

“If I was the president I would have fired him also. Even if what he’s saying is absolutely correct, there’s a way for him to do that. But putting it out in a magazine like that..You can’t have a general do those kinds of things. It doesn’t lead to good order and discipline,” Glorioso, R-Plant City, said. “If it was one of my squadron commanders, I’d have fired him. You may not like the person but you have to respect the position. There’s a proper place for you to exercise your beliefs within the chain of command and that’s where it belonged.”

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